While playing games requiring the use of protective wear, such as football and hockey, players utilize shoulder pads to provide protection to their shoulders, sternum and chest area. Shoulder pads provide protection through the integration of two major components: namely, an outer plastic shell and underlying padding material attached to the outer plastic shell. The outer plastic shell absorbs and redistributes forces and blows it receives, while the underlying pads absorb from the plastic shell the force and help absorb the force and distribute it over a larger surface area, thereby decreasing the risk of injury to the player.
The underlying padding material is typically attached to a plastic shell by traditional sewing methods or through the use of velcro. In the portion of the shoulder pads that surrounds a player's neck, there are generally two padded collars 7, one located on each side of the player's neck and above the shoulder area.
These padded collars are typically sewn into place on the plastic shell and a vinyl or a similar type of material is used to cover the pad material in areas where it will experience wear. The material currently used in new shoulder pads and the material currently used to cover the padded collars has the following inherent problems: The vinyl material used to cover the padding material hardens and cracks from exposure to sweat and other elements of wear; the vinyl does not have sufficient elasticity to conform well to the unusual dual curvature of the portion of the shoulder pad to which it is attached, thus creating wrinkles along the collar and which not only result in cracks and rips, but also cause the player chaffing and discomfort; there has not been a sufficiently economical or easy means to renovate shoulder pad collars.
FIG. 2 shows the replacement collar cover 1 as it is installed on an existing shoulder pad collar 7. The hard shell portion of the shoulder pad 6 is comprised of outer shell pads 8 to cover the shoulder area and collar pads 7 to protect the player's neck from the hard shell.
The currently used procedure and the resultant high cost in repairing and renovating the shoulder pads is relatively cumbersome, costly, ineffective for long term use on the shoulder pads and must be performed routinely in order to maintain the shoulder pads as usable. The typical and current method for renovating the pad and changing the collar is to:
(a) Remove the pad from the plastic shell by unstitching, typically using a razor blade; PA0 (b) Sew a new collar over the top of the worn collar and pad; PA0 (c) Re-sew the pad back into its original position on the plastic shell.
The forenamed procedure requires a person skilled in operating a heavy duty sewing machine capable of sewing through plastic and typically one-inch pad. The entire procedure is labor intensive, relatively expensive and should be performed by a professional.
My invention solves or greatly reduces the problems heretofore not solved by prior art or practice by providing: a shoulder pad collar renovation system which is relatively easy to install; one which can be installed by less skilled labor, such as by the school or coaching staff; one which can be installed without the need for expensive machinery and/or equipment; one which greatly reduces the amount of labor required to renovate a set of shoulder pads; and one which is relatively inexpensive.